Tightrope (Burning Cove #3)(73)

“I used to work for Whispers. I know someone there who will know who to call. Is that all you need? Just the title of a Silver Horizon movie that was about a robot?”

“No. I want to know if Vincent Hyde was under contract at Silver Horizon when the robot movie was made.”

“Vincent Hyde is involved in this thing?” Irene’s voice rose in feverish excitement. “Hang up. I’ve got to make some calls. Wait, how do I get hold of you when I get the answer to your question?”

“If you get an answer in the next few minutes, call me here at Lorraine Pierce’s number, Exbrook 2555. If I’m not here, I’ll be at the Paradise or on my way there.”

“Got it.”

“One more thing,” Matthias said. “I’d also like to know if Ray Thorpe was working security at Silver Horizon when the robot film was made.”

“I’ll get back to you as soon as I find out anything,” Irene vowed.

“Thanks. This is very important.”

“To you and me both,” Irene said.

Matthias dropped the receiver into the cradle.

“What’s going on?” Luther asked quietly.

Matthias took a moment to collect his thoughts.

“There had to be two versions of the robot,” he said. “One was an empty aluminum shell. The second was the costume. I think we can assume that Ray Thorpe stole both from Silver Horizon Films.”

Luther nodded. “If he was handling security for the studio, he would have had access.”

“He was obviously a tough guy, but he didn’t seem to be all that smart. Pretty sure he’s not Smith.”

“I’m with you,” Luther said. “Go on.”

“Lorraine Pierce is a good liar, but I’m convinced that she was telling the truth tonight when she said she wasn’t Smith. She and Thorpe were obviously deeply involved in this business but I’m equally sure that they were being manipulated by someone else, someone who has been pulling the strings all along.”

Luther gave that a beat. “It would be a classic Smith operation. He orchestrates the whole project but he stays in the shadows while it is unfolding.”

“Maybe,” Matthias said, “he’s the client. Just a voice on the phone, as far as Pierce and Thorpe are concerned.”

“Now that,” Luther said, “makes a hell of a lot of sense.”

“If things had gone according to plan, he would have gotten rid of both Thorpe and Pierce as soon as he took delivery of the cipher machine.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Smith, or at least it fits what we know of his style. He plays the part of the client who commissions the theft of the machine and then he gives precise instructions on how to carry out the scheme. Throughout the whole thing he stays in the shadows.”

“That way, Pierce and Thorpe could never identify him.”

“If we’re right about any of this, you can bet he’ll disappear as soon as he realizes that Pierce isn’t going to deliver the Ares machine,” Luther said.

“I think we’ve still got a chance of nailing him.”

Luther stilled. “What?”

“I’m betting that Smith is here in Burning Cove,” Matthias said. “He has been all along. He had no choice, because this was not just the most important deal of his career—it was his final act of revenge against the government that fired him. He would have wanted to keep a close eye on every aspect of the project.”

Luther rubbed the nape of his neck. “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I. If this were any other job, he would cut his losses and disappear. But this isn’t a routine job. He’s a desperate man, and desperate men take risks they would not otherwise consider taking. When he finds out things have gone wrong tonight, there’s a very real possibility that he won’t do the logical thing and walk away.”

“At least Raina and Amalie are safe tonight. The Paradise is a fortress.”

The telephone blared less than ten minutes later. Matthias did not need the Jones family talent to know that disaster had struck.

He grabbed the phone.

“Jones,” he said.

“I’ve got some information for you,” Irene said, her voice sharp and clear. “The title of the Silver Horizon film that featured a killer robot was The Revenge of the Robot. It was made four years ago. Died a quick death at the box office. But you were right. There were two versions of the robot. One was an empty aluminum shell that could be filled with a lot of fake wiring and mechanical gadgets. It was used for scenes in which the crazy inventor was shown working on his creation. The studio also planned to use it for publicity purposes.”

“The second version was a costume, wasn’t it?”

“Yep. Made to look like the aluminum robot.”

“Ray Thorpe?”

“He was not working security at the studio at that time,” Irene said. “He was hired there quite recently, however.”

“What about Vincent Hyde?”

“Hyde was at the top of his career four years ago. He was under contract at another, larger studio doing the Mad Doctor X films. My source also reminded me that Hyde would never have taken a role that would have forced him to wear a mask. He’s much too vain.”

“Who played the robot in the Silver Horizon film?” Matthias asked.